Kayak death: 14 hours before alarm was raised

A MAN who died after a kayaking tragedy on Loch Fyne capsized around 14 hours before his party raised the alarm, it emerged yesterday.

The 26-year-old, who has not been named, died in hospital on Sunday following the incident on the sea loch early on Saturday evening. He was one of three men on a camping trip to the area.

Police said yesterday that although two of the men capsized while in a 15ft kayak between 4pm and 5pm on Saturday, all three made their way to shore and set up camp. It was not until 6am on Sunday that they realised one of their group was unwell, and made an emergency call to the coastguard.

A lifeboat was launched from Tighnabruaich and a rescue helicopter was scrambled from Stornoway. All three were found at the water’s edge and taken by ambulance to Mid Argyll Hospital in Lochgilphead. However, the 26-year-old, who is understood to come from the Glasgow area, died shortly after arrival. The other two men were not seriously injured.

Strathclyde Police said a report would be submitted to the procurator fiscal.

Meanwhile, an operation which was spurred after a member of the public claimed to see a person fall into a swollen river in the south-west of Scotland was stood down yesterday evening. Police, coastguard and mountain rescue teams were alerted after a reported sighting of someone plunging into the River Annan in the Everholm area of Annan in Dumfries and Galloway at about 6:30pm on Sunday.

The search was resumed yesterday morning, but after rescue officials did not find anything, the operation was brought to an end at around 2:30pm, having “drawn a blank” according to the local constabulary.

The Scottish Environmental Protection Agency has issued two amber flood alerts, covering Edinburgh and the Lothians and the Scottish Borders.